Many industrial activities are carried out in environments unfavourable for human workers. One solution has been to replace the physical presence of a worker with a robotic tool guided by a worker at a remote location, commonly referred to as teleoperation. Other solutions may include autonomous robotic actors with varying degrees of control function provided by remote operators.
One area of robotic operations that has been improving is the use of wireless communications to and, as a result, high bandwidth wireless communication is desirable for the teleoperation of mobile devices and vehicles, among other applications. For example, in underwater environments, these activities include mining, oil exploration and extraction, installation of telecommunications cables etc.
Mining in particular is a highly labour intensive activity, especially in an underwater environment because of the increased resistance to movement in water, potential health problems associated with persistent or prolonged deep-sea diving, and the cumbersome equipment required to enable workers to remain submerged for long periods of time. Similarly, terrestrial environments, such as surface or subsurface applications, may also have inhospitable environmental conditions that make wireless communication and teleoperation of mobile devices and vehicles desirable.
One aspect of optical communications is providing a suitable receiver that is capable of receiving an optical signal. Most commercial optical receivers are relatively delicate instruments that typically require close alignment with a transmitter for good communications. These optical receivers are generally not suitable for industrial or hazardous applications.